'L—Lucy?'
Kazu was internally shaken when he saw her.
'What the fuck is happening? She's not even our age. She's around the same age as Cannon started. Is this some time-travel or weird shit?' To his surprise, the first hypothesis that came to Kazu's mind seemed the most probable.
This was one of the cliches. So, he wasn't that shocked.
'Maybe it was part of filler or something?'
"You look like you have seen a ghost or something. Why are you this shocked?" Cana's words broke him out of his rambling.
"I... was just shocked at how shameless people could be. Wearing such an outfit in public." Kazu quickly came up with an answer on the spot.
Lucy stiffened at his words. She then smiled wryly.
Multiple glares came Kazu's way, who ignored them.
"Ehh, Is that so? Then why are you blushing?" Cana poked at his ears, which had a slight reddish tint. This was present on his cheeks as well.
"I am not blushing!" The reply almost came instinctively.
"Sure~ If you say so." Cana didn't believe him.
'Jeez. Is it due to her outfit or is it because it's Lucy?' Kazu didn't know why he was blushing like a teenager.
Lucy was his favourite female character in the show. The reasons for that were several.
Kazu noticed that Lucy was staring at some people for a long time.
'Me, Cana, Mira, Levy... Is she like seeing the past versions of the people she knows?' Kazu mused.
His eyes suddenly widened. 'Hold up. If she is here, doesn't it mean that adult versions of people I know might be present too?' The idea thrilled Kazu.
"Fuck. I forgot to turn off the gas. See ya." Cana turned her head and found an empty stool where Kazu was.
---
Kazu briskly walked through the streets. 'Damn it. If only I had a way to sense people properly.' He cursed at this luck.
He subtly looked around as he walked, trying to find any familiar faces.
His steps paused when he looked at a redhead.
Kazu immediately looked away.
'I already miss the days behind the screen. Why is it so awkward in real life? I would be labelled a perverted child or something if I stare for too long.'
Across the street, a girl was cosplaying a cat costume. The shocking thing was the amount of skin it revealed.
Only covering stuff was a bra and underwear. Everything was exposed, almost like a bikini.
Kazu quickly grabbed a newspaper from a nearby stall and lifted it to cover most of the fact apart from the eyes.
'Though it's better in real life.' Kazu internally nodded to himself as he glanced at her multiple times to get the full picture.
He then put the newspaper back and walked towards her. 'It's weird. I don't see her as the future of the Erza I know. Is it due to seeing the adult version of the anime?' Kazu didn't know how to feel about that.
He had accepted that everyone is an actual person, not a character, but seeing Erza like this has challenged this belief.
"Excuse me. Are you looking for something?" Kazu stopped in front of Adult Erza.
"Hmm?" Adult Erza turned to her and stiffened. Recognition flashed in her eyes, which Kazu didn't miss.
'So, she is from my future. Not from an alternate timeline I was not part of.'
"No. I was just looking for... something. That's it." Erza's face morphed into a frown.
Before Kazu could say anything, she disappeared.
Kazu looked at the spot where she had left for a few seconds before lifting his hand and placing it on his chest.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
Kazu felt like his heart would break out of his chest any moment.
He waited for a few seconds for his heart to calm down. Seconds quickly turned to minutes before Kazu felt like he had calmed down.
'I thought I was going to die. She was giving the same feeling as the master.' Kazu's instincts had started blaring louder as he got closer to Erza and had skyrocketed when she disappeared.
He hasn't felt this level of threat in his entire life. Even Hades didn't give such a feeling, though Kazu suspected that he was hiding his intent.
'Either my skills have evolved to start noticing such beings' power levels, or my instinct magic has finally become unreliable. Maybe it was because she looked angry just before she left. What is she even looking for? The thing related to time-travel?' Kazu mused as he started walking.
'Still, Erza seems to have at least reached the level she was supposed to reach in Canon. I wonder if I reached her le—'
"Ouch." Kazu collided with somebody, causing him to fall.
'Wow. This is the first time this happened.' He thought as he looked at the clouds, feeling... bizarre.
His eyes then widened. 'Hold up. First time? Yeah, this is my first time cause my Instinct Magic always prevent such stuff from happening. Has it actually become unreliable?' Kazu felt himself panic at the thought, but he quickly crushed it.
He jumped up and looked at the person whom he had collided with.
"You should watch—" Kazu paused mid-way when he looked at the person.
Black eyes. Tan skin. Black Hair.
A lean yet well-built physique, which was obvious to even the naked eye.
Despite the difference from what he knew, Kazu recognised the face.
How could he not?
It was the same face that stared back when he looked in the mirror. Just aged.
Before Kazu knew it, the adult version of him pulled his cheeks.
'???'
He then checked his other body parts, like his eyes, limbs. Kazu was speechless, just stood there for the next thirty seconds, getting molested by himself.
The man finally stopped and then made eye contact with Kazu.
"Pfft. You really are weak. Can't even dodge a walking man. How are you going to become S-rank?" Adult Kazu grinned.
Veins popped on Kazu's forehead as he glared at his adult version. On instinct, he tried to calm himself.
'Hold up. He might not be messing with me, but rather indirectly giving me a message. Maybe he can't say something directly, so he used such a method.' That was the first hypothesis that came to Kazu's mind.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He found himself to be the kind of guy who would do such things.
"Nope. I was just doing it to mess with you." As if the adult Kazu could read his mind, he replied with a smug grin.
More veins popped on Kazu's forehead. 50 per cent of his Ethernano went to his fist.
'Calm down. Why are his words getting to me?' Kazu didn't understand himself.
"You look like an angry cat. The only difference is that you look pretty ugly, unlike the cute cat." That was the last straw.
'Inhale.'
Kazu took a deep breath. All the anger left his face as he calmly looked at his adult version.
"Did you use a spell or something that induces emotions?"
Adult Kazu grinned. "Nope. Other people always say how calm you are. They just don't know how to push your buttons."
Kazu frowned but didn't reply. He already didn't like his adult version, but what he said was not that wrong.
"Well, I am pretty weak, you know. Just like how you were at this point in your life." He decided to use the same approach the man had used on him.
"Yup. I was pretty weak. Heck, I don't even consider myself strong now." The nonchalance the man accepted caught Kazu off guard.
However, he quickly caught himself. "Right. Anyway, why are you here?"
"Why can't I be here? I was just here to look at younger versions of my Family."
His answer caught Kazu off guard. 'Damn. I don't think I could say that with a straight face...'
"Also, there's another reason." Adult Kazu turned his head towards a certain direction.
Kazu followed his gaze.
It was an alley. A man in black robes was standing, looking at their direction.
Looking at Adult Kazu.
Due to the darkness, Kazu didn't recognise his face, but his instincts started going haywire.
This man... he was way more dangerous than adult Erza.
'I am getting a higher danger feeling than Erza at such a distance. What will happen if I go closer?' Kazu didn't want to find out.
Suddenly, the sunlight streaked in that alley, causing the man's face to become visible.
All the thoughts Kazu had in his mind disappeared when he looked at the man's face.
Zeref
Kazu shut off his instincts as Ethernano flowed towards his fist and legs.
"Nope." A hand on the shoulder stopped him.
Kazu turned towards the adult Kazu.
"Why?"
"You will die. Heck, even I don't have the confidence to kill him. For you, it's a suicide."
Adult Kazu's words entered Kazu's one ear and left the other ear.
He didn't care about logic.
The target of his revenge was just standing in his sight.
Black-coloured Ethernano shone on Kazu's fist, before it streaked towards Adult Kazu's face.
'One Hit Ko: 50 percent X Constructive Interference: Factor 10 X Emotional Amplification FULL'
***
A/n - This is Cannon event that happened. Search 'Memory Days' for your reference. Well, minus the Zeref part.
***
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